First passage times and nonequilibrium chromosome looping

Statistical Physics and Complexity Group meeting

First passage times and nonequilibrium chromosome looping

Event details

I will review the basic technique to find the mean first passage time of a stochastic process, by starting from the Fokker-Planck equation. We will then consider an application, to the formation of a chromosomal loop via a diffusing slip-link (which models cohesin, a particular kind of DNA-binding protein involved in loop formation). This problem is currently of interest due to experimental results which have uncovered some surprising features of cohesin-mediated chromosome loops.